Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen extended their streak in the American Le Man Series, winning the GT1 class in Saturday's Acura Sports Car Challenge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
It was the fourth win in a row and the fifth win of the season for the #3 Compuware Corvette C6.R.
O'Connell and Magnussen completed 98 laps and finished 18.487 seconds ahead of the #4 Corvette C6.R driven by Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin – the only other runners in the class.
With temperatures in the mid-90s and high humidity, the weather was as hot as the racing. The sibling rivalry between the sister Corvettes produced a shoving match as the cars emerged from the pits after their final stops.
The Corvettes had entered their respective pit stalls nose-to-tail just before the two-hour mark, and left simultaneously with O'Connell in the #3 and Beretta in the #4. As the drivers jockeyed for position, they failed to heed a red flag at the pit exit and both were subsequently summoned to the penalty box.
"We are a very competitive group," said O'Connell after tallying his 33rd career ALMS victory. "Both cars left at the same time and it was like the Hatfields and McCoys for a moment with two guys arguing for the same area of road. It was just two great race cars today running in very difficult conditions."
O'Connell started in the pole-winning #3 Corvette, while Beretta started in the #4 Corvette. O'Connell handed off to Magnussen at the 50-minute mark during the first of three full-course caution periods, while Gavin replaced Beretta on the next lap. Two more cautions ensued, including an extended clean-up after a pit fire. With 46 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 45-minute race, both cars made their final stops for fuel, fresh tyres, and driver changes.
"I was concerned when we did that last driver change because it was a short fill and that makes driver changes difficult," O'Connell reported. "I think both cars dropped off the jacks at the same time and then it was a drag race to the pit exit."
